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Archived Comments
| Name | Comment |
|---|---|
| Gay, testing | Greetings everyone! |
| Marion | Having been through a school shooting incident, I can tell you that the most important thing to do is to have an emergency plan before any emergency hits. We learned to say exactly what was happening - if there is someone in the building with a gun, announce it over the intercom so all doors can be locked, but people in halls (maybe parents or students) can get into a room, too. If one hears "Mr. Love is in the building," outsiders (even subs) would have no idea what it meant. We learned to have lists of people and phone numbers all ready on one piece of paper so evacuation or counseling can be set up quickly. Everybody has a story to tell about the emergency - let them tell it - it hastens healing. Let the students see the damage & help to be a part of fixing it. It helps emotionally (them & others) feel a degree of safety. Get back to the site as soon as possible and face it, seeing that you lived through it & life goes on. Be ready for strange reactions will will generally simmer down - such as the student who has to listen to the hourly weather report. There are never enough phone lines in the school to call parents if an emergency hits during school hours. We allow cell phones, bu they must be kept in pockets/purses turned off, or the phones will be in the office the rest of the day. Art is essential, especially to little ones, to draw the things for which they have no words. Enough for now - I'd love to hear what others in different states/countries have done! |
| Jenny | I believe that Marion hit the nail on the head in making the point that children need to feel honestly informed about frightening events so that they can deal with the ideas and eventually develop a feeling of control once again in their lives. Finding ways to help is so healing. We are currently gathering essential items at school for hurricane evacuees who have moved to our area, and the kids seem so relieved to have this opportunity to help directly. Living right on the coast, many have worried that we could be next as victims of a hurricane. Getting the fears out in the open, complete with contingency plans, is indeed important. Like Marion, we have "Lockdown Drills" for practicing what to do if someone dangerous is in the building. These practices always lead to anxious questions, and it's critical to reassure children that they are safe--odds are such an event won't happen, and if it did we would know what to do. In fact we have had one actual "Code Red", and the kids were wonderful. Many live in such harrowing circumstances outside of school that it's doubly important to give them a sense of security when they are here. Art certainly is one major strategy for providing an outlet for kids' inner feelings on all that they face! Thanks for bringing it into the discussion, Marion! :-) |
| Doris | We too have the "Code Red" in my district, and do try to be proactive rather than reactive. However, a certain level of teacher "withitness" needs to be in existence. Many, unfortunately, do not possess it. Having experienced four hurricanes last season and being on "stand-by" now with ARES and the American Red Cross, I can tell you first hand. You need to be prepared. Go to the ARC website. Read the disaster prep notes, what types of documents you should save, and have a "jump" bag ready to grab in case you need to leave town. Also, have an "ICE" number keyed into your cell phone. Incase of emergency numbers on cell phones have been life savers. My husband and I are both amateur radio operators and worked emergency communications and provided communications when the cell towers and basic communication systems went down because of power outages. We're also trained in first aid/CPR with the ARC and were also trained as department of defense Crisis First Responders. If you think plan A is enough, you should have a plan B or C -- just in case. Keep in regular touch with family. Let distant members know what you're plans are and keep informed about conditions in your area. We usually have a three day window of opportunity should severe weather offur with a few minor exceptions like tornadoes and such. As in boy scouts and girl scouts, be prepared. |
| Marion | Excellent ideas, Doris. You certainly sound prepared. For ease, please tell us exactly what the ARC website is so that we may find it quicly and check out their plans. Thanks! |
| Jenny | Doris, you and your students have certainly faced worst-case scenarios, and know the realities of being prepared for disasters, or not...Do you find that it's possible for students to return to a sense of being safe after a frightening reality has struck? As resilient as children can be, perhaps such high-impact experiences in fact can "build character" when handled optimumly. We try so hard to protect our kids, yet it's also important to prepare them for emergencies, and empower them to deal with harsh situations. |
| Theran | It is wonderful to see what is being done to protect our children. Also to know that there are many involved in seeking their best good. My question is, for those of us in higher education, why isn't there (as far as I know) any similar concern or action? What should we do? |
| Marion | When our frightening reality struck that a shooting could & did occur at our school, it took quite a while before things settled down to normal. While it looked normal on the surface, at the sound of a loud noise-even a book dropping- students dove under desks. If someone didn't like something, a reply was often, "What are you going to do about it? Shoot me?" Any act of violence, such as a boy teasingly putting his hands around another's neck for a few brief seconds, sent the perpetrator to a mental health clinic for a 3 day mandatory complete mental health check up. I believe students do feel fairly safe, while still being smart enough to remain alert & talk to teachers if they hear anything that sounds a bit off base. It has built character, as the school no longer tolerates excessive teasing or harrassment. It is dealt with quickly and strongly by both peers and addults. A greater awareness of others' feelings has developed. Though the shooting occurred 5 years ago, we are just this year getting return students who had been pulled out and were home schooled after the shooting. |
| Jenny | I wish that shootings were as rare an occurance for my inner city students! As Marion said, loud noises jolt them horribly because almost every student at my school knows only too well what a gun shot sounds like. As I've mentioned in past discussions, a bullet actually shattered my classroom window last winter (no one was in the room). Kids and teachers still make nervous references to it. Many of my students must sleep on the floor of their apartments for fear of stray bullets in their neighborhoods at night. What a world. In reference to Theran's question about extending this concern for our students in higher education...yes, what IS being done? My own son's college experience lacked plans in that regard. Such concerns didn't exist when I was in college--although I remember with terror our "duck and cover" air-raid practices in elementary school in the 60s. Any higher ed. information amongst us??? |
| Andre | I Remember Mt. Pinatubo, 1991, in the Philippines. It was Friday morning, June 7, the last day of school on Clark Air Base, we were aware of the activity of the huge volcano, Mt. Pinatubo. By Monday, June 10, we received the announcement to evacuate. We were teachers working for the Department of Defense Schools on Clark Air Base. We were told to secure our homes and drive to Subic Bay, another U.S. base 50 miles away. We fathomed that traffic would be incredible on the small street leading to Subic Bay. We learned that most of the Americans drove their cars, full of their families and a few important personal belongings, bumper to bumper to Subic Bay. Living there, we heard was not easy. Where would they stay? What would they eat? On average, it took 5 hours to drive to Subic Bay. Some had to use a gymnasium as a home. Whereas there were many concerns, to my knowledge people were generally out of harms way and cared for. Mt. Pinatubo had been erupting during the drive to Subic Bay. However a few days after families arrived there, it spewed ash far and wide and made the earth groan in nearby towns. Seven hundred and twenty-two people died. It was the second largest eruption of the 20th century in terms of the amount of material erupted. A Philippine woman and her husband had been hired by me as both house and yard custodians. They had been introduced to me early in 1989, when I first arrived to work on Clark Air Base. I entrusted them to take care of my home as I trekked to safety. A few teachers I knew went to Manila instead of Subic Bay. For us, it was the wisest thing to do. One of the teachers knew a church that had property in which we could stay. The volcanic eruption was so overwhelming that the ash fell far beyond Clark Air Base. Although we had traveled over 50 miles to stay in Manila, the ash was falling there too. I became curious a few days after the eruption and drove my car to my home. Luckily, I was able to return. It was an horrific site. Clark Air Base was completely unglued. I recommend you search for images of the area. A picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a web site to get you started. http://www.subicbaypi.com/subic_pinatubo_base.htm For me, it was as if both an earthquake and a volcano had erupted. Imagine a great snowfall covering an entire city. Imagine that while the snow is falling, an immense earthquake occurs. If you have ever said “Oh my God” because your eyes could not believe what you were seeing, then you can relate to this experience. Andre Andre' R. Elliott, Ph.D. |
| Jenny | Andre', what finally unfolded for you all????? What happened to your students? How did you resolve this experience inwardly? This is a nightmarish but excellent example of the realities that we must grapple with as "the ones in charge". Please submit the sequel if you find some time! There is so much to learn from your experience. |
| Andre Elliott | We mostly returned to America and awaited updates regarding future employment. I think I have, for a long time, been an insightful and spiritual person. I think mother nature talks to us in mysterious way. Few would doubt that the volcanic eruption was an act of God. However, I will not leap to interpret this act. I think many people were fortunate to recover most of what they lost there. For me, the U.S. government, via a structured process, reimbursed me for losses related to clothing, furniture, automobile, etc. It was a time-consuming process. I think it was helpful that an evacuation plan was timely considered and implemented. Everyone received employment in other locations around the world. I moved to Japan. |
| Andre Elliott | Thanks, Marion and Doris for your knowledge regarding emergency situations that deserve our best plans. I appreciate the tip regarding the cell phone and the idea to honestly communicate with children. |
| Doris | I think the website for the American Red Cross is www.arc.org, but you can do a google search as well. |
| Jenny | Andre, what a life-altering experience. You are living proof that survivors of natural--and other--disasters can choose to learn from traumatic situations and grow stronger from them on many levels. Nature is nature, despite how powerful some members of the human race think humankind may be. I think we need to emphasize a respect and reverence for nature in schools much more than we currently do. We are, after all, a part of nature. The more we are able to design pro-active plans (as excellently pointed out by Marion, Doris, and Andre) for possible life-altering events, the wiser and safer we will be. |
| Andre Elliott | Jenny, Thanks for keeping our conversation coherent and progressive. There is a simple truth in what you said. Nature is nature. We are part of nature. Nature is a great teacher. On another note, did I miss some of our business discussions. I look forward to our progress regarding the Simon/Poppenhagen scholarship and other unfinished business items when appropriate. |
| October 11, 2005 | The meeting has been adjourned, and discussion closed. Thanks for participating! |